


There is Solace to be Found

by muscatmusic18



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Slow Burn, Zelda is captured by Captain Lilith, and learns that pirates arent as bad as she previously thought, they just get to know one another, this isn't a stockholm syndrome thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:01:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28470537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muscatmusic18/pseuds/muscatmusic18
Summary: The ringing of a bell broke Zelda from her thoughts, and she turned towards the deck, looking for the commotion. Men ran erratically in every direction, shouting orders and questions as chaos broke out, and through the din, Zelda just managed to hear the lookout’s message:“Pirates!”
Relationships: Zelda Spellman/Lilith, Zelda Spellman/Mary Wardwell | Madam Satan | Lilith
Comments: 59
Kudos: 93





	1. Wild Sea

**Author's Note:**

> HI so I was gonna wait until later in the new year to post this, but I just finished part 4 and... yeah... needed something better than that.
> 
> My promise to you, the reader: Lilith will be treated right by me, and by that I mean she will have more than ten lines of dialogue.
> 
> A great big thank you to my friend, TomorrowNeverCame (@its-a-goode-day), not only for editing for me, but for being just as invested in this AU as I am, as well as for going through part 4 with me

Zelda leaned against the railing at the bow of the ship, watching it slice through the water below and trying to make pictures out of the foam in its wake. It wasn’t as though there was anything else to do.

She’d been on the merchant ship _Azul_ for five weeks now, a little over halfway into their journey to Boston, and what she wouldn’t give to sit on a surface that wasn’t moving, eating one of the little cream cakes her sister often served with afternoon tea, a book in hand as she basked in the sun of their afternoon parlor.

A pang of homesickness stabbed at her heart, and tears pricked her eyes, ones she fought off with a shake of her head. Useless. It was useless to pine for a house, one she knew she wouldn’t step foot into while Lord Blackwood hunted for her. It was nothing more than a collection of bricks and stones; surely it didn’t warrant tears being spilled.

But the people in it…

Her sister, who was best friends with the staff, spending most of her time in the kitchen baking something and humming incessantly. Sabrina, who always ignored her sharp reprimands to walk like a lady as she came rushing down the stairs, pounding footsteps echoing through the house. Edward, who…

Well, maybe she wouldn’t miss Edward as much. _He_ was the one who handed her off to Blackwood in the first place, like some prized possession to be traded.

The anger sitting in the pit of her stomach staved off the tears, but it was dulled with homesickness, a deep ache that made her chest feel like it was caving in on itself. It felt unending, this ache, and the knowledge that it would be years before she could possibly go back home only made it worse. The only thing keeping her from teetering off and into pure despair was the thought that maybe in a year she could go back and visit, as long as the right precautions were taken.

A gust of wind pulled at her hat, and she clapped it back on her head, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed. Confident that no one was watching, she discreetly tucked any loose strands back in until all evidence of her long hair was hidden. Satisfied, she tugged the hat firmly into place, praying she wouldn’t have another close call like that; with four weeks left on the ship, it was doubtful.

Knowing Faustus would look first at the logs of passenger ships, Zelda had opted to sail to the New World on a merchant’s vessel, and given the superstitions held by long-time sailors about women on ships, she’d disguised herself as a man under the alias of Jon Smith. It was a dreadfully fake name, but with the amount of gold Zelda was willing to pay not only for passage but to keep any record of her off the logbooks, the captain wasn’t asking many questions. Though her small stature and lean limbs didn’t lend much authenticity to her lie, she was quiet, kept to herself, and helped in the kitchen to make their rations somewhat edible, so the crew at least pretended to believe her story.

The ringing of a bell broke Zelda from her thoughts, and she turned towards the deck, looking for the commotion. Men ran erratically in every direction, shouting orders and questions as chaos broke out, and through the din, Zelda just managed to hear the lookout’s message:

“ _Pirates!_ ”

Her mind turned the word over again and again but refused to process it. _Pirates_. Whatever would they be doing all the way out here? From what she’d heard Edward say, pirates were notorious for sticking within a week’s journey of land, having better luck at finding ships to raid there than out in the never-ending expanse of the open ocean. The _Azul_ was weeks away from any shore, so how could they have possibly run across pirates?

A particularly loud shout spurred her into action, and she rushed down the steps of the bow to the main deck, fighting her way through the throng of panicked men to the stern where she’d spotted Andrew, one of the crewmembers she’d become familiar with over the weeks.

She cleared her throat. “Andrew!” she called over the din, pitching her voice lower.

He looked up, and seeing her, stepped closer, pulling her over to the railing with a hand on her shoulder. “Jon, you need to—”

“What’s happening?” she interrupted, not interested in anything except for her questions being answered. “You can’t seriously mean _pirates_?”

He glanced nervously at the horizon, but Zelda couldn’t see anything where he looked. “Red sails have been spotted, and they’re gaining quickly.”

“What do red sails have to do with anything?”

His eyes were full of dread as he spoke. “There’s only one ship on the seven seas that sails under red, and that’s the _Demoness_.”

“The _Demoness_?” she repeated. A terrifying name, but one that sounded like it belonged in a storybook, not here in reality.

Andrew nodded, glancing out at the water before continuing. “She sails under Captain Lilith, a bloodthirsty woman who’s sold her soul to the devil to be immortal – never aging and impossible to kill.” He swallowed hard, eyes darting again to the horizon. “It’s said she slits the throats of innocent men and uses the blood to dye the sails.”

Zelda chewed on her bottom lip. She imagined pirate tales were often exaggerated, but if this Captain Lilith had the reputation of being in league with the devil, then she must have done _something_ to warrant such a status. Something she might be about to experience.

She looked to the horizon again and gasped. Where nothing had been visible to her before, there was now the distinct outline of a ship, drawing closer with each passing second, and the sails that billowed in the wind were as he described: blood red.

Andrew let out a slow breath and looked over Zelda, who stood a full head shorter than him and weighed at least five stone less. “You’d better get below decks.” He bent, pulling a dagger from his boot and handing her the hilt. “This isn’t gonna be pretty.”

Slowly, Zelda took the dagger, holding it gingerly. Its weight felt awkward in her hand, _deadly_ , but between that and her bare hands, she’d take the dagger. Giving Andrew a grateful look, she turned towards the stairs leading below deck, fighting her way through the chaos.

Sudden terror gripped her stomach as she started down to the cabins What good would hiding even do? If the pirates boarded the ship, they’d search every corner for valuables and likely find her in the process. And even if she did manage to hide, what would she do then? Would the pirates take the ship, leaving her to play a game of cat and mouse for weeks until they made it to port? Would they sink the ship just for the fun of it, leaving her to drown? Would they set the ship adrift, leaving her alone and at the mercy of the winds?

Zelda bit her tongue against the threatening tears. _No_ , she would not think that way, not yet. Something would work out; it _had_ to. She couldn’t die like this.

The sleeping quarters consisted of rows of bunks fixed to the walls, with large chests fixed to the floor for crewmembers to store what little belongings they had. Walking to the last row, Zelda managed to wedge herself between the bottom bunk and chest, tossing burlap over the edge of the bunk and herself. If pirates did come down here, she hoped they’d be too preoccupied with rifling through the chests to notice her.

Seconds seemed to last an eternity. She could hear the muffled shouts and crashes of chaos on deck, but somehow the sound of her own shaky breath was deafening in comparison. It was mostly dark, the cabin having only a few small windows, but the stray beams of light that made it through the burlap above her glinted off the dagger she held in her hands, looking miraculously like starlight.

The ear-splitting boom of the enemy’s cannon sounded, and Zelda jumped, a yelp building on her tongue. She bit it back and strained her ears, trying to tell if the ship had been hit, but couldn’t hear any water rushing in. Maybe the pirates had missed… or simply hit the other side of the ship.

Seconds passed, or was it hours? Zelda couldn’t tell; even her heartbeats seemed to last days. But the noise above was reaching a fever pitch, and the loud thump of boots dropping to the deck followed by the clang of swords made her suck in a sharp breath – they’d been boarded.

The sound of clashing swords continued, and soon inhumane screams pierced the air. She grit her teeth and began counting her breaths, trying all at once to block out the noises and desperately listen for anyone coming down the stairs.

Somewhere around her nineteenth breath, the sounds of fighting died down, and the ship fell quiet.

 _Eerily_ quiet.

There were no footsteps, no swords, not even the crashes of things being rifled through. Could they have left? No, that wasn’t possible; they couldn’t have gone through the cargo by now, and why else would they raid a merchant ship? Just for the fun of killing, her mind supplied, but she pushed the thought aside. Even if the pirates had raided them just for pleasure, what was the logic of leaving valuable supplies behind?

Zelda waited, and still, nothing. She waited longer, until her legs were asleep and her shoulders cramped, but no sound from up above.

She slowly crawled from her hiding spot, wincing as the blood rushed to her legs. Standing in the middle of the cabin, she still couldn’t hear anything, so she took a cautious step towards the door, thinking maybe she’d hear something if she was closer.

The trapdoor at the top of the stairs burst open, bringing with it a blinding ray of light. Zelda scrambled back, but it was too late — whoever was there was already halfway down the steps, and they must have seen her by now. With nothing left to do, she held the dagger out in front of her, pointing it menacingly at the descending stranger.

The person stepped out of the glare of the light, revealing a wild mane of hair half-tamed underneath a captain’s hat. _Lilith_ , Zelda remembered, and swallowed hard, thinking of her supposed deal with the devil. Her eyes darted to the sword and dagger in her hands, the gun on her belt, the knife in her boot, and Zelda felt her knees go weak.

Her arm had begun to drop, so she raised it again, determined not to look as scared as she felt. Lilith smiled at that, showing far too many teeth, and sheathed her sword with almost a pitying look, putting her dagger in her dominant hand.

“I’ll make this a fair fight, lad.”

It was either die rooted to the spot or die fighting, which meant Zelda only had one choice. As quick as she could, she ran towards the captain, slashing with her weapon.

Lilith sidestepped easily. Zelda stumbled but caught herself, whirling around to face the captain only to see her _laughing_ , as if this was nothing more than a game of cards to her.

“You’ve got fire, boy,” Lilith commended. “Come quietly, and I’ll make you a part of my crew.”

Despite herself, Zelda ran at the captain again, not appreciating being toyed with like a mouse just before it’s killed by the cat. Again, she sidestepped, and Zelda braced herself from stumbling, but before she could turn around, an arm caught her waist, and she found her back pressed up against the captain, bodies molding as Lilith held her with an iron grip.

Zelda squirmed, trying to reach back and stab Lilith with the dagger, but the captain caught her wrist easily before pinning her other arm, trapping her further. She squirmed harder, trying to stomp on the captain’s feet.

She caught the toe of her boot, and the captain growled in her ear, tightening her grip. Zelda thrashed as panic set in, so much so that she barely noticed when her hat fell off, sending her hair tumbling down her shoulders.

A curtain of red obscured her vision, and she froze, unsure of what the captain’s reaction would be. Hiding her hair was the one thing that allowed her to pass as a man, and now all it would take was one quick glance for Lilith to see she was a woman.

The arm around her waist relaxed slightly, and Zelda regained her wits enough to wiggle free. She ran blindly, only thinking to get away from the captain, but realized after a few paces she’d merely run further into the cabin, trapping herself. She whirled around, expecting Lilith to be right behind her, but instead saw the woman staring at her, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“You’re a woman?” Lilith asked slowly like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Zelda rushed her again, but the captain recovered quickly, grabbing the wrist holding the dagger and twisting. Zelda cried out, watching in horror as the dagger slipped out of her grasp and clattered to the floor before her arm was being twisted further and she was forced to spin around. Lilith caught her other wrist then and pulled them both behind Zelda’s back, holding them tight. Zelda tried to jerk from her grasp again, but the captain held firm, tying her wrists with a length of rope.

A firm hand clasped her shoulder, guiding her towards the door, but Zelda resisted, digging in her heels and trying to shake off the woman’s touch.

“Would you just walk?” Lilith chided, sounding more exasperated than anything, but Zelda didn’t listen.

Lilith huffed. “Gods above and below,” she grumbled before spinning Zelda around to face her. In one fluid motion, she bent down and was hoisting Zelda over her shoulder.

Zelda shrieked at the sudden movement, dizzy at the sudden upset to her equilibrium. “Put me down!” she yelled, squirming to try and throw her off-balance, but the captain walked on like she didn’t notice Zelda was even there.

The bright midday sun hit them as Lilith stepped onto the deck, Zelda’s eyes watering after being in the relative darkness of the cabin. Through her tears, she saw the vague form of a slumped body, a dark pool of blood underneath him, and she gasped, closing her eyes before she could see any more carnage.

They went up another set of stairs before the captain put her down. Zelda opened her eyes, bracing herself to see more remains of the apparent slaughter, but thankfully there were none where she was. Turning her gaze to the captain, she opened her mouth to demand what they planned to do with her, but she was already walking back down the stairs, gesturing to a tall, dark-haired member of her crew.

“Prepare the lifeboats for the prisoners. Let’s see if they can make it to an island alive.”

A chill ran through her blood – starving to death in a lifeboat seemed worse than a quick blow with a sword. A whimper came from next to her, and Zelda glanced over to see a few remaining crewmen of the _Azul_ sitting bound as she was, heads bent in apparent prayer.

Looking back to where the captain disappeared, Zelda set her jaw in determination. Praying to God for mercy was the last resort, and Zelda would not make use of that just yet. Lilith had shown enough humanity not to slaughter her where she stood; if Zelda was lucky, she might be able to use that to stay alive.

Boots sounded on the stairs again, and the captain appeared once more, pausing at the top to gaze at them. Zelda heard shuffling as the other prisoners attempted to move further away, but she refused to cower before this woman, instead forcing herself to meet Lilith’s eyes when they landed on her. She grinned at that, seemingly intrigued, and sauntered over. Even as the captain knelt to look her in the eye, Zelda refused to give in, focusing on taking slow, measured breaths.

“I must say, I expected all of our treasure to be materialistic today,” Lilith remarked, still staring at Zelda. “Never in my wildest dreams did I expect you.”

“I come from a wealthy family,” Zelda blurted, surprising herself. She hadn’t come up with a full plan for how she was going to survive, but it was now or never. She’d just have to figure it out on the fly. “If you take me with you, you can ransom me for more money than you’d ever earn from raiding this ship.”

Lilith’s expression didn’t change, and her voice was flat when she spoke. “Is that so?”

Zelda nodded, hopeful that she had the captain’s attention. “They’ll pay whatever sum you ask for. I’m far too valuable to leave adrift.” Though, that wasn’t entirely true: while her family did have money, they didn’t have _that_ much, but now wasn’t the time for semantics, she thought.

The captain smiled faintly and hummed, reaching out to touch Zelda’s jaw. “You’re valuable even without the ransom, precious. But it is a nice bonus.”

Zelda wasn’t sure what that meant, but kept silent, not wanting to anger Lilith now.

The captain stood suddenly and turned, yelling down to the deck. A moment later, a crewmember came jogging up the steps, looking at the captain expectantly, and she nodded towards Zelda.

“Take her to my quarters.” The crewmember — the captain had called him Abe — nodded, but before he could start towards Zelda, Lilith reached out gripped his arm, her fingers clearly digging in. “She is my _guest_ ,” she emphasized, giving him a hard stare. “I expect you to treat her as such.”

The crewmember shrunk from her as he nodded. “Yes, cap’n,” he said quietly. The captain let go of his arm, and he nodded once more before walking towards Zelda.

After a humiliating and harrowing experience involving having to walk across a plank while trying not to whimper, Abe gripping her waist to steady her all the while, Zelda was guided across the deck of the _Demoness_ and to the captain’s quarters. The door was barely opened when he’d pushed her inside, and she couldn’t even whirl around to face him before the door was shut, leaving her alone and tied up on the strange enemy ship.

For the first time in what felt like days, Zelda allowed her shoulders to slump. _Captured by pirates_ – whatever was she going to do?


	2. A Million Miles from Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Call me curious, but I’m interested in why a wealthy,” Lilith paused, looking Zelda up and down hungrily, “ _well-bred_ woman is traveling on a lowly little merchant’s ship,” she paused again, lips quirked in a way that was just on the edge of a smile, “disguised as a man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! I do apologize for the delay in updating, but school is very busy. The good news is I am still very excited for this fic and stunned by the reception it received, AND I already have the plan for chapter three flushed out a lots of the dialogue written (now all that's left is the descriptions...)
> 
> This chapter is unbeta-ed, so all mistakes and weird phrasings are mine.

Zelda slowly turned to face the interior of the captain’s quarters, still not quite believing she was in this situation. She’d been on her way to the New World, prepared to carve out a new life for herself away from Lord Blackwood, and now she was trapped on a pirate’s ship, heading… God knew where. Back to England, she supposed, to demand her ransom.

The fear sitting high in her throat suddenly flared again: what if they weren’t going there? The only reason she was alive was because of her promise of a sizable payment, but if the pirates had another agenda in a place other than England, how long would this Captain Lilith be willing to keep her around? She’d need to be alive to be used for ransom, and how long would the captain be willing to give her food and water until she decided it wasn’t worth it?

No, she told herself with a shake of her head, it wouldn’t come to that. The captain had already shown herself to have more compassion than expected for a pirate; she wouldn’t possibly murder a woman in cold blood merely because she grew tired of providing for her, especially when there was the promise of a large sum of gold at the end of her capture.

_Would she?_

To distract herself from the terror rolling through her stomach, Zelda focused on the captain’s quarters, looking for anything that could cut her bindings. On the back wall directly across from her, there was a large bed, neatly made with what looked like expensive bedding. Curious, Zelda thought, she never imagined pirates living so lavishly – but then again these were the captain’s quarters. 

In the corner of the room to her right, there was a desk with large windows behind it, the afternoon sun illuminating stacks of leather bound books, like the ones her brother used to log his merchandise, and sheaves of paper scattered about it, and Zelda wondered why would a pirate need such extensive logs.

Along the wall closest to the desk, there were large, ornate wardrobes, though the last one in the corner was partially blocked from her view by a dressing screen. Next to her sat a round table with four chairs, and while the table’s finish was scarred in places, it was obviously of high quality. Along the wall opposite of the wardrobes, there sat a small vanity in the far corner, and next to it a long dresser, baubles scattered across the top.

Zelda’s head spun; the scene looked so normal, she could almost pretend she was in her own house, had she not been able to look out the window and see the never-ending expanse of ocean. It was overwhelming, trying to process _everything_ – leaving her home and her family, traveling to an unknown country, being boarded by pirates, being _captured_ by pirates…

She felt dizzy, her breath shallow, and she forced herself to take a deep breath, closing her eyes to stop the world from spinning. She couldn’t do this, not now; she needed to stay focused. She needed something to cut her bindings – that was a simple goal. If she could get out of them, then maybe she could find a weapon and wait by the door, catching Lilith or whoever by surprise. But even if she did manage to kill them, she thought, what then? Face the rest of the crew as the murderer of one of their own?

Zelda shook her head – stay focused. Find something sharp, then make a plan.

The captain’s desk seemed like the most likely place to start. She strode over, looking as best as she could through the stacks without having her hands available to move anything. She peered at the stacks of books – she was right, they were logbooks -- and again wondered why a pirate would need to keep records. Stacks of paper detailing what she thought were payments – who was she paying? Maps, quills, a nice-looking bottle of ink, a spyglass, a sextant, but nothing sharp.

Zelda bit her tongue in frustration – Lilith cluttered her desk with everything imaginable but didn’t have a letter opener? Turning around, she attempted to open the drawers, but with the way her hands were tied, she couldn’t, leaving her muttering insults with no one to direct them at.

She abandoned the desk, focusing her sights on the bedside table. Still, nothing there, and the same was true for the vanity, the dresser, and the small table she’d found behind the dressing screen. Her hands were utterly useless, regardless of how many times she tried to open drawers, and after what felt like hours of scouring every inch, Zelda was left standing in the middle of the room, panting, livid, and still bound.

She paced for a while, feeling as though her skin was crawling with her pent-up anxiety and frustration, but as the adrenaline wore off, the aches in her body began to set in. For a lack of anything else to do, she walked over to the table and nudged out a chair with her foot before sitting heavily, only then realizing how exhausted she was. It wasn’t much of a reprieve, however. With her hands tied behind her back, she couldn’t lean into the chair, leaving her to slump forwards, a knot growing in her upper back. She fruitlessly tugged at her bonds but stopped when she felt the rope cut into her wrists – the last thing she needed was for a wound to fester.

It was as though she was in a dream, she thought — or perhaps a nightmare. If she’d ever been asked to imagine what it would be like to be captured aboard a pirate vessel, an ornate room without a guard in sight would never have been her first thought, and that made her think that maybe this was all a delusion. She bit her tongue, and when she didn’t wake in her own bed or aboard the _Azul_ , she went back to trying to reckon with her surroundings.

She could feel the faint rocking of the boat beneath her now that she was still, further lulling her until she was in a state where she was drifting out of her body and up towards the ceiling. It was the oddest sensation, as she could turn and see herself sitting there, eyes glazed and fixed on an unknown spot on the wall. What should have been a terrifying experience was… fascinating. Almost amusing. Like she was watching a play, waiting for the plot to pick up again. 

She was still caught in her surreal state when the door opened, and the captain came through. Zelda snapped into her body, disoriented for only a moment before she shot to her feet and watched as the captain looked her up and down before her brows furrowed. 

“He left you tied?” 

Zelda, not expecting that question from her, merely nodded, and Lilith rolled her eyes in response. “ _Animals._ ” 

Lilith unsheathed her sword with a loud rasp and stepped towards Zelda. She shrieked, trying to scramble away from the woman, but Lilith caught her upper arm, turning her so she faced away from her. Zelda tried to squirm from her grasp, screaming when she felt the blade of the sword touch her wrist, but before the sharp flare of pain could come, her bindings fell away, leaving her wrists free. 

Lilith let go of her arm, and Zelda ran a few steps before turning to face her again, rubbing her wrists as she watched Lilith sheath her sword again, still mildly shocked the captain hadn’t hurt her. Lilith stared at her for a few moments, like she was waiting for something, but when it didn’t come, she turned and walked towards the dresser. 

“Why am I here? Why not just throw me in the cargo hold and be done with me?” Zelda demanded, surprised by her own boldness. This woman _was_ her captor, but Lilith hadn’t shown even an inkling towards wanting to hurt her, despite her numerous opportunities – it was unlikely she would now. 

Then again, Zelda thought as a shiver ran down her spine, she could just be biding her time. 

There was a bowl of fruit on the dresser, and Zelda watched as Lilith’s hand hovered over it for a second before pulling out an apple. She turned and held it out to Zelda, brows raised in question, and Zelda shook her head. Lilith shrugged and walked towards the table, gesturing to a chair. 

“Why don’t you have a seat?” 

Zelda stood still, not wanting to get closer to the captain if she could help it. 

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Lilith said softly. 

“Why would I believe the word of a bloodthirsty pirate?” 

Lilith tsked, pulling out her own chair and sitting. “It seems as though you _want_ me to be the ruthless pirate you think I am. Would you be more comfortable if I treated you as a prisoner instead of a guest? It would certainly be less trouble for me." 

Zelda shifted on her feet, her boldness wavering in the face of the captain’s threat. Still, she kept her eyes up, no small feat when the captain’s startling gaze was trained on her, and she managed to keep her voice from shaking when she spoke, albeit quieter than before. “You haven’t answered my question.” 

Lilith motioned to the empty chair again. “Sit, then we’ll talk.” 

Zelda almost wanted to refuse as a point of pride, but angering the captain seemed a worse option. Slowly, she walked to the chair and gingerly sat, waiting for her to speak. 

“You can take my word as a _bloodthirsty pirate_ ,” she started, giving Zelda a pointed look, “because it would be unwise of me to damage the goods. Your family wouldn’t be too happy if I returned you worse than I found you.” 

Her family would pay just to have her back, regardless of her condition, but she thought it best not to argue the captain’s logic in this case. Zelda waited for her to continue, but Lilith just openly stared at her, eyes flicking over her body in a way that made Zelda want to squirm. 

In a smooth motion, Lilith bent down and pulled a knife from her boot, flipping it once before putting the blade to the apple still in her hand. Zelda found herself leaning back in her chair, despite the fact that the knife was nowhere near her, and she watched as Lilith cut a thin slice and ate it in one bite. 

It was as though the captain had lost interest in the conversation, instead focused on eating her apple slice by slice, and Zelda tried to temper her annoyance as she spoke. “Where are we going?” 

“Europe,” Lilith answered quickly, eyes still trained on her last bit of apple. “I expect that’s where your family resides.” 

Zelda just nodded, refusing to give Lilith the satisfaction of speaking more while she veritably ignored her. 

Finally, Lilith glanced up at her, a slice of apple pierced on the tip of her knife. “Care to tell me _where_ your family lives?" 

“Why do you need to know?” she shot back, and Lilith quirked an eyebrow. 

“If I am to ransom you as you suggest, I’ll need to know which door to knock on.” 

Zelda hated the logic of her statement and hated even more that she couldn’t think of even a minor reason to argue with it. “England. London, specifically.” 

Lilith hummed, carefully plucking the slice off the tip of her knife. “And tell me, what does this rich family of yours do in London?” 

“Why do you care?” 

“Call me curious, but I’m interested in why a wealthy,” she paused, looking her up and down hungrily, “ _well-bred_ woman is traveling on a lowly little merchant’s ship,” she paused again, lips quirked in a way that was just on the edge of a smile, “disguised as a man.” 

A cold feeling of dread spread through Zelda’s stomach. She wanted to be angry and tell the captain to mind her own business, but she’d known this question was coming, and she still didn’t have an answer for Lilith. It was much too personal to tell her the real reason, having to explain Blackwood and her brother and the deal they’d made, but why else would she go to such lengths to hide who she was? What other reason was there that the captain would believe? 

“Circumstances,” Zelda started, choosing each word carefully, “surrounding people that my family is involved with forced me to take this journey.” 

Lilith stared at her, eyes bright and piercing, and for so long that Zelda wondered if her gaze just might pierce her soul, but then she stood abruptly. She walked behind her desk and opened one of the windows, throwing the apple core out before locking the window again and turning back to Zelda. 

“I have some more business to attend to with our new cargo. Help yourself to anything here – I’ll be back in a few hours.” 

With that, she strode out of the room again, leaving Zelda speechless. Was that it? She hadn’t answered the captain’s question in any meaningful way, and now she was dropping it? She shouldn’t complain, not when Lilith could have easily demanded her to give up every detail of the nasty situation, but Zelda couldn’t help but feel as though the captain was merely waiting for the right moment to press her further, like a snake waiting to strike. 

As stunned as she was, she didn’t delay now that she was alone and her bindings undone. She rushed to the bedside table, the closest drawer to her, and threw open the top one, finding it full of books. Bawdy romance tales, fictional adventure novels – did this woman have no class? Closing it, she opened the next one, finding a bit of perfume, some scented oil, olive oil, and something wrapped in a handkerchief that showed to be a long hunk of glass, polished smooth with— 

Zelda dropped the object and slammed the drawer shut, cursing the captain up and down. Not only did she have a pirate as her captor, but her captor was _depraved_ , one who thought it was proper to keep such objects lying around like they were living in some common whorehouse. 

“Like a beast in the wild, not even trying to hide such matters,” Zelda muttered to herself, trying not to think how Lilith might use such an object on herself, or _others_. 

She turned to Lilith’s desk, chastising herself for not starting there. She found the top drawer to have completed ledger books, but nothing more. The next one had more bottles of ink, quills, and blank sheets of paper. Zelda slammed the drawer closed, frustration building, and tore the next one open. More paper – how much could the woman need? Another spyglass, this one looking older than the other, a few odd trinkets and— 

Zelda grinned, pulling the knife out of the bottom of the drawer. It was small, hardly bigger than a dinner knife, but it was sharp, and it was protection. She tucked it up her sleeve, buttoning the cuff tight on the blade to ensure it didn’t cut her. Satisfied it was hidden, she went through the other drawers, though not as frantically as before, finding more of the same. Lilith seemed to have a penchant for collecting trinkets for their sentimental value, she thought, unable to find any worth in the baubles she found. 

Walking to the wardrobes, she opened each one and flicked through the clothing, more out of curiosity than actively searching now. The captain owned a fair amount of dresses in varying shades of lavish colors, which surprised Zelda – she didn’t seem like the type to wear them. Stroking the fabric, she couldn’t help but marvel at the quality, amazed by the smooth texture of the silks and the fine details of the embroidery. 

There was nothing else of interest that Zelda could find, and soon she found herself sitting in the same chair as before, drumming her fingers on the table. She didn’t like the inactivity – before she had a goal in mind, something to focus on and complete. Now, with a knife tucked away and the room explored, she was restless, skin itching with anxiety as her mind plagued her with wretched thoughts about the ruthlessness of pirates. 

The wasn’t sure how long she sat, stuck in a loop of imagining scenarios where she could end up dead, but then the thudding of boots alerted her just moments before the door swung open and Lilith strode in. She came towards her, and Zelda did her best not to scramble out of her chair, but contrary to the dark thoughts she’d been entertaining moments before, the captain just set a plate in front of her before walking to her desk. 

Zelda watched her, waiting for her to say something, but Lilith just opened the ledger on her desk, looking over the last entry before loudly flipping the page and flicking open the inkwell, absently grabbing for a quill. 

Seeing that Lilith had nothing to say for the moment, Zelda glanced back to the plate in front of her, filled with chicken, bread, and— 

_Vegetables_. Broccoli, to be exact, as green as though it was just picked and so beautiful that Zelda felt as though she could cry. Not caring how the _Demoness_ had acquired it in the middle of the ocean and disregarding her manners, Zelda picked up the fork on her plate and stabbed the food, eating quickly. She swallowed a bite, feeling as though she could moan at the taste, but then caught herself, and glanced at Lilith to ensure she hadn’t seen her rush to eat. Satisfied she hadn’t, as she was still writing in her ledger, Zelda picked up the knife on her plate and forced herself to eat properly, cutting small bites and eating slowly, just as a lady would. 

The captain still said nothing as Zelda ate, absorbed in her ledger. Even when Zelda finished and pushed her plate away, Lilith kept on writing, the scratching of her quill the only sound in the room as the minutes slipped by like sand in an hourglass. 

Night had fallen, hours ago by the looks of it, though Zelda had been too distracted by her own worrisome thoughts to notice until now. As she watched the moon and the stars from the window behind the captain’s desk, Zelda wondered yet again what the woman was planning on doing with her. She’d assumed the captain had her brought to her quarters so she could interrogate her about her family’s wealth, and that Lilith would throw her in the brig once she’d gotten her information, but now that Lilith had returned from her business and had been silent for near on an hour, Zelda wasn’t sure anymore, about _anything_. 

“You’re welcome to the bed.” 

The captain’s voice startled Zelda, and it took her a moment to realize what exactly she’d meant. “I— your bed?” 

Lilith glanced up at her, eyebrow quirked. “Is there another one in the room?” 

Zelda bristled at the captain’s teasing and folded her arms around her middle. “No, thank you,” she said curtly, and she remembered the object she’d found in Lilith’s bedside table. “I’ll not climb into your bed where you’ll rape me the minute my eyes are closed, or slit my throat and be done with me.” 

Lilith smiled in an amused, almost pitying way. “If you think I need to trick a woman into my bed to get her to spread her legs for me, you’re sorely mistaken.” 

Zelda felt her jaw drop, surprised by the captain’s forwardness. Lilith smirked, looking back at her ledger, and Zelda snapped her jaw closed, turning to look straight ahead and ignore the woman. 

She steamed over the captain’s remarks for a time, but with the low lantern light of the room and food in her stomach, Zelda felt herself begin to drift, eyelids becoming heavy as the soft rocking and creaking of the boat lulled her. She shifted in her seat every few minutes to keep herself awake, occupying her mind by inventing colorful insults to call Lilith by. 

She’d just come up with one she was sure would make even her brother blush, and she smirked to herself before starting in on another, trying to think of just the right adjective to… 

Her head jerked up suddenly, and she realized with a flush with embarrassment that she had begun to nod off, only waking herself when her head had drooped. 

She shifted in her seat again and snuck a look at Lilith, who thankfully was still absorbed in her ledger. Folding her arms, she pinched the skin of her underarm, digging in when she felt her eyelids drop in an effort to keep herself awake. But even that wasn’t working, and she could feel the small jerks of her head every time she began to nod off. 

How bad could it really be, sleeping in the captain’s bed? It was big enough that they could both fit and not touch – if the captain kept to her side, that is. And her motives with Zelda couldn’t be _too_ nefarious, as she was their ransom. But ransom only meant bringing her back alive, and not necessarily unscathed… 

“I wasn’t being cruel or teasing when I said you could lie down.” 

Zelda jumped a bit, hating how abrupt the woman was. She glanced at the captain, but she was still bent over her ledger, and Zelda briefly wondered if she somehow knew her thoughts. “I’m not getting into bed with a pirate.” 

Lilith carefully set down her quill before looking up at Zelda, icy blue eyes boring into her. “I promise, when you are in the bed, you will have it to yourself. I won’t touch you in any way.” 

She seemed sincere, but Zelda shifted in her seat again, not sure what to think. “If that’s the case, then where are you going to sleep?” 

Lilith leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk, and gave Zelda a wide, feral grin, with far too many teeth to be comforting. “Who says I need sleep?” 

Zelda wasn’t exactly sure what Lilith meant, but still felt unnerved. But regardless of how the captain made her feel, the offer of the bed to herself was _tempting_ , and surely laying down in front of Lilith was far less embarrassing than falling out of her chair from exhaustion. 

Tentatively standing once the captain had looked back at her work, Zelda edged towards the bed, watching her reaction. Lilith didn’t look up, much less acknowledge her movement, so Zelda sat, sighing at the feeling of a real, well-made bed. 

She decided against taking off her boots, not wanting to run barefoot should the situation require it, and swung her legs up, wincing a little at putting her shoes directly on the bedspread, but then thought better of it – she wouldn’t bother with the feelings of a pirate. 

She situated herself on her side facing away from the captain and carefully pulled the dagger out of her sleeve, tucking it under her pillow and wrapping her fingers around the hilt. She wasn’t sure how much protection it would offer her in the end, but it certainly made her feel better to have. 

Closing her eyes, she felt the pull of sleep heavy on her body, but found herself too conscious of her every move to give in to it. She was tense, feeling like the captain was watching her every move, every breath, and even as desperately as she wanted to drift off, she couldn’t with Lilith behind her. 

So, instead of fixating on the woman behind her, she forcibly put her out of her mind and thought of home. Of the streets below her bedroom window, never entirely quiet at night, but their noises always had a lulling effect on her. Of the sounds the staff would make in the early hours of the morning as they prepared for the new day, the sound of Sabrina sneaking around the house at all hours of the night (which she would pretend not to hear), the sound of Hilda, always up for tea at the crack of dawn. 

With those memories in mind, Zelda slowly relaxed, soothing herself until she drifted off into dreams, the quiet scratching of Lilith’s quill echoing in her ears. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been asked about a tag list on tumblr, so if you'd like to be added, you can tell me here or on tumblr, I'm themoon-andher-love there. Or, just drop by and say hello and tell me your favorite sea shanty! Spoiler alert, there will be singing later on.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm @themoon-andher-love on tumblr, come say hello!
> 
> And just as a bit of a reassurance to those of you reading my other fics: no, I'm not abandoning those, I'm actually coming along quite well with those! I'm just getting a few of my stories started so that I have a variety to work on.
> 
> Oh, and happy new year! Here's to something that's better than 2020


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